Evidence Advisor, Office of the Chief Economist (Evidence Generation)

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About the Project

Through the Private Sector Engagement Modernization Contract (PSEMC), Dexis supports the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) PSE Hub to expand and deepen collaboration with the private sector to achieve greater development outcomes. The PSE Hub’s mission is to create the institutional conditions, operating infrastructure, and capacity necessary to expand engagement with the private sector in the United States and partner countries. The PSE Hub works to transform and modernize how USAID does development by institutionalizing USAID’s PSE policy and delivering capacity- and systems-building support for PSE across all sectors, operating units, and countries where USAID operates.

About the Position

Dexis is seeking an Evidence Advisor to support the independent Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), which supports USAID in improving the effectiveness of its programming by bringing stronger economic evidence, theory, and tools to bear on the Agency’s work. Toward this end, OCE

1. Promotes the use of high-quality evidence of “cost-effectiveness” (i.e., how much impact does an intervention deliver per dollar spent) in Agency decision-making;
2. Promotes the generation of more cost-effectiveness evidence that the Agency is uniquely placed to catalyze;
3. Provides analysis and advice to Agency leadership on pressing macroeconomic issues.

This is a full-time position based in Washington, DC, with the possibility for remote work. It is currently envisioned to last two years, with the possibility for extension.

 

Responsibilities

The Evidence Advisor will support OCE efforts to increase the use of evidence in program decision-making at USAID (such as adopting proven, cost-effective interventions for key development outcomes in USAID programs) and supporting USAID to generate more evidence where there are evidence gaps. This will involve exciting opportunities to collaborate with technical teams and Missions across the Agency on specific programs and bodies of evidence as well as to identify opportunities to strengthen processes, policies, systems, and capacity related to evidence use and generation. Essential functions for this role are outlined below:

Synthesize Global Evidence and Provide Actionable Insights from Evidence to Support USAID Decision-Making (40%)

• Carry out syntheses of cost-effectiveness evidence related to specific development outcomes. Includes conducting both in-depth and rapid syntheses, drawing on existing evidence synthesis where available, incorporating external program cost data to complement impact evaluation evidence, and providing clear guidance to Agency colleagues.
• Collaborate with USAID colleagues in other offices to co-create syntheses of cost-effectiveness evidence related to specific development outcomes.
• Stay abreast of the latest external randomized evaluation evidence from academia and other research institutes; identify and execute on new opportunities to apply insights from emerging evidence to USAID’s work.
• Compile and communicate information to USAID colleagues about the relative cost-effectiveness of different development interventions—and the strength of underlying evidence—in user-friendly, actionable ways to guide Agency decision-making.
• Track the team’s portfolio of engagements as directed/needed, including key indicators on number of engagements, dollar value of activities being informed by cost-effectiveness evidence, and likely impact of the team’s advising. 

Build Capacity through New Tools, Guidance, and Products (25%)

• Engage with a broad range of USAID stakeholders to understand how, when, and why they do—or don’t—use cost-effectiveness evidence or generate new evidence as part of USAID-funded programs.
• Develop tools and guidance that can support USAID colleagues in using cost-effectiveness eviden